Construction of a planned barbed-wired fence along the Finland's long border with Russia will start early next year, Finnish border guard officials said Friday, amid concerns in the Nordic country over the changing security environment in Europe.
The initial three kilometer (1.8 mile) stretch of the fence will be erected at a crossing point in the eastern town of Imatra by the summer of 2023. It will eventually extend to a a maximum of 200 kilometers (124 miles).
